Terms

Ti Do Tuo Tian Li San Jiao

Ti Do Tuo Tian Li San Jiao Ti Di Tuo Tian Li San Jiao”, which translates as ‘carry Earth and support Heaven to put in order the three visceral cavities housing the internal organs (san jiao)”. The Chinese character san means three; thus, san jiao refers to the three specialised groupings of the internal organs concerned mainly with the fluid transportation in the living body (including blood and qi movement). This term is peculiar to Chinese medicine. It can also be referred to as the three internal groupings of organs of the body. Thus shang (upper) jiao refers to organs above the diaphragm, including the heart and the lungs; zhong (middle) jiao refers to organs between the diaphragm and the umbilicus, including the spleen and the stomach; and xia (lower) jiao refers to organs below the umbilicus, including the kidney, the urinary bladder, the small intestine and the large intestine. Thus “to put in order the san jiao” means the exercise will massage all the internal organs and facilitate the movements of the body fluids, the blood and the qi.